NFL Player News

Linebacker Devin White is questionable. With injuries mounting throughout their defense, the Bucs won’t be an overwhelmingly difficult matchup for Jordan Love and company. Love has some high-end QB2 juice for Week 15 while Jayden Reed and Romeo Doubs are both on the WR3 radar.

Buggs was charged in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, where he played college football for the Crimson Tide. Court documents say that two dogs were found on the porch of a home rented by Buggs with no access to food or water. Buggs’ agent, Trey Robinson, denies the charges, saying the dogs do not belong to Buggs and the charges are part of a campaign to force the closure of a hookah lounge he owns in Tuscaloosa. Robinson also stated that Buggs was arrested on misdemeanor chargers twice in the past two months at his hookah lounge, but no public record was made of these arrests. He maintains that this is part of a campaign to force him to surrender his business license. Buggs started his career with three seasons in Pittsburgh, then two with the Lions before joining the Chiefs’ practice squad in January and then re-signing on a futures contract. He is the latest Chief to face legal troubles this offseason.

Kittle told reporters he played through the injury around Week 9 or 10 and played through it for the remainder of the season. He has been out of commission for OTAs but wasn’t concerned about his availability for camp, saying his recovery is on schedule. Kittle topped 1,000 yards for the third time in his career and caught 65 passes despite the injury. He didn’t miss any games outside of the rest week all San Francisco starters got in Week 18. Though his production remains streaky, Kittle showed no signs of slowing in 2023 and remains in the middle of the TE1 pack.

The 49ers originally tendered Jennings, a restricted free agent this offseason, at the second-round level. Jennings chose not to sign the tender and managed to get the two-year deal instead. As Schefter notes, the deal functions as a one-year extension on top of the tender he was offered. It’s worth up to $15.4 million with $10.5 million guaranteed. Jennings has been the team’s WR3 for most of his career. He didn’t see the ball much in 2023, only catching 19 passes for 265 yards and a single touchdown. Jennings did, however, catch and throw for a touchdown in the 49ers’ Super Bowl loss. With first-round rookie Ricky Pearsall now in the mix, there isn’t much room for Jennings’ role to grow, but he will be a valuable depth piece for Kyle Shanahan over the next two seasons.

Leatherwood spent the 2023 season on Cleveland’s practice squad but last appeared in an NFL game in 2022 with the Bears. Chicago claimed Leatherwood off waivers after the Raiders cut him just ahead of the season. Leatherwood was a disastrous pick for the Raiders. He began his career at right tackle but was quickly moved to right guard when that didn’t work out. The former first-round pick was a highly-regarded prospect entering the league but is now at risk of flaming out after just three seasons. He is far from a lock to make the Chargers’ roster at the end of training camp.

Jacobs missed the first week of OTAs with a hamstring issue but was back for individual drills this week. He was seen cutting and running during individual work and looked perfectly healthy. His light workload to start OTAs is almost certainly a precaution and nothing more. Assuming Jacobs is a full go in practice next week, the hamstring issue will be a non-story by training camp. Projected to easily lead an ascending Green Bay offense in carries, Jacobs is rightfully being drafted as a low-end RB1 to start the summer.

The deal should be worth roughly $5.7 million over four years. Tampa Bay got a few splash plays out of rookie wideout Trey Palmer last year but opted to add more firepower at receiver with McMillan in the third round. Chris Godwin is also entering the final year of his contract, opening a path for McMillan to see more playing time in 2025. For this year, it’s safe to assume he will be a rotational player and the clear WR3 at best, making him a better stash in dynasty and keeper leagues.

Jets head coach Robert Saleh said Cohen was signed primary to handle kickoff returns. Cohen, who hasn’t take a regular season snap since the 2020 season, will try to make the Jets roster this summer. He’s suffered both an ACL tear and an Achilles tear during his pro career and has struggled to get back to the form he displayed in his first couple seasons with the Bears. Cohen had a combined 1,000 scrimmage yards in 2018 as a scat back in Chicago.

Hill, listed as a tight end but used through the years as a versatile offensive weapon, was seen taking direct snaps on offense and working with the special teams unit. Hendrix said Hill being deployed in the “backfield is starting to be a pretty exciting thing to see unfold. There was a play in team where he was the running back in shotgun and took the run left for a nice little gain. On that play, we also saw two players go in motion, with Juwan Johnson and Dallin Holker.” It appears new Saints OC Klint Kubiak is willing to retain always-shifting package of Taysom plays that have been intriguing and sometimes frustrating for fantasy purposes. Hill and Kubiak reportedly met in the offseason to discuss Hill’s role in the Kubiak system; Hill said the conversation was “super positive.” Taysom in 2023 finished as fantasy’s tenth highest scoring tight end, just behind Trey McBride. Continued backfield usage for Hill in 2024 would be decidedly bad news for Alvin Kamara’s touchdown upside.

Jefferson has plans to play this upcoming season, according to Schultz. He has been training and intends to talk to teams after he spent last season with the Ravens as a scouting intern. In his playing career, Jefferson spent four seasons with the Cardinals before becoming a full time starter with the Ravens for two seasons. After that, Jefferson spent 2020 out of football and bounced between the 49ers, Ravens again, and Giants for two seasons. He retired and joined the Ravens as a scouting intern, but is now looking to return. The safety market still has players like Jamal Adams and Justin Simmons available and Jefferson has thrown his name into the mix.

Collins’ breakout 2023 campaign (80-1,297-8) has paid off as he’s now contractually set as the Texans’ WR1. Even with Diggs being traded to the Texans, this comes as no surprise as Collins is the younger (and home grown) talent. Collins should be considered in the second round in all one-quarterback, redraft fantasy leagues.